In the Philippines, we have a lot of sari-sari stores — small stores that sell all sorts of stuff. My posts are stories of all kinds of stuff that I experience or learn, most especially while being a woman, a wife and a mom. :)

Great Tip to De-Stress Your Life!

Before our 10-day stay in hospital, it has been 4 months of not having a permanent helper at home and about 2 months of having a weekly cleaning lady and weekly laundry woman. I would have to cook our meals, which I have said here that it’s not something I am used to, OR we would have to order out, which is totally unhealthy and expensive. I have learned to cope with our situation, doing minor cleaning myself 6 days a week, and drying & folding clothes after laundry day. I realized that it was the cooking that would stress me out the most, and so we had to come up with a plan for when we’d get back home. I could already foresee what I would be up against because unlike in the hospital where there are nurses 24/7, ready regular meals including snacks delivered to the room, and the housekeeping staff to clean the room & bathroom, I would have almost no help at home, not even from King because he’s still recovering — taking care of the kids, bathing them, taking them to the bathroom, bringing Danae to and from school, washing dishes, vacuuming, even the simple act of picking up something on the floor or grabbing King’s shirt in his cabinet…..you get the picture. And so I thought, to lessen my work (and stress), I need someone to cook many meals for us, so that I could just reheat them. I wanted clean, healthy, home cooked meals. My friend Chef Len Santos-Ding came to mind.

I immediately messaged her if she would be willing to cook for us in bulk — food that we could put in the freezer, then reheat and add fresh vegetables as needed. Being my friend and a woman, she completely understood me. She was on board immediately, telling me that she has been wanting to provide exactly this kind of service for women like me. We came up with a possible menu that suited our liking, but I told her that it’s up to her since we knew that we would love whatever she cooked for us. It’s been six days since we got our food and we have been enjoying our meals! I’m not pressured to cook and I can have our meals ready within 30 minutes, as opposed to an hour or two, including prep time (yes, I am slow). Everything has been delicious and we still have loads in the freezer! We’ve consumed the baked macaroni & cheese, beef stew with mushrooms, meatballs with mushroom sauce, 2/3 of the beef nilaga, half the chicken teriyaki, half the chicken pineapple stew, half the one loaf of embotido. We still have 2 kinds of spaghetti sauces, adobo, sinigang, chicken estofado, another embotido loaf, and more meatballs. I didn’t have to do anything but pay as I picked up all the food. She even gave me tips for left-overs. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. Seriously, this is one of the best tips I could give you, if you want to de-stress your life. I can’t wait for our next batch of food. I see delicious, home made arrozcaldo, tocino, longganiza, lasagna and kaldereta in our future! 🙂

About Phoebe Torres-Lucero

I am Phoebe Torres-Lucero, wife of a loving husband & dedicated pastor, King, and mother to three wonderful, smart, active little girls, Danae, Noelle and Gianna.
Phoebe means bright and radiant. Torres means towers. Lucero means light. Put together, my name speaks of a tower of bright, radiant light. And that is what I hope to be as I write and share with you some of my experiences, especially on being a mom.

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I am Phoebe Torres-Lucero, wife of a loving husband & dedicated pastor, King, and mother to three wonderful, smart, active little girls, Danae, Noelle and Gianna. Phoebe means bright and radiant. Torres means towers. Lucero means light. Put together, my name speaks of a tower of bright, radiant light. And that is what I hope to be as I write and share with you some of my experiences, especially on being a mom.